CVE-2023-22243 in Animate
Summary
by MITRE • 02/18/2023
Adobe Animate versions 22.0.8 (and earlier) and 23.0.0 (and earlier) are affected by a Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/27/2025
Adobe Animate suffers from a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability classified as CVE-2023-22243 affecting versions 22.0.8 and earlier, as well as 23.0.0 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the application's handling of malformed or specially crafted files within its file processing pipeline. The flaw manifests when the software attempts to process untrusted input data without proper bounds checking, leading to memory corruption on the stack. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, which represents a classic and dangerous class of memory safety issues that have been extensively documented in the software security community.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires social engineering to trick users into opening a maliciously crafted file, making it a user-interaction dependent exploit. This means that attackers cannot remotely compromise systems simply by sending files through network channels, but must instead rely on convincing victims to execute the malicious content. The attack vector typically involves phishing emails, malicious websites, or compromised software distribution channels where users are induced to open the specially crafted file. The buffer overflow occurs during the parsing of specific file formats, likely involving multimedia or animation elements that Adobe Animate processes during file loading operations.
Upon successful exploitation, the vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user, which represents a significant security risk in enterprise environments where users often have elevated permissions. The attack follows the typical exploitation pattern where attackers can overwrite return addresses or other stack data to redirect program execution flow. This allows malicious actors to inject and execute their own code within the context of the Adobe Animate application, potentially leading to full system compromise. The vulnerability's impact aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, where attackers can leverage the compromised application to execute arbitrary commands.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Animate installations to mitigate this risk. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating to the latest available versions of Adobe Animate that contain fixes for this buffer overflow vulnerability. Security administrators should implement strict file validation policies and user education programs to reduce the likelihood of successful social engineering attacks. Network-based protections such as email filtering and web proxies can help prevent users from accessing malicious files. Additionally, implementing application whitelisting policies and restricting user privileges can limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of the vulnerable software within the organization's infrastructure.